Smoke is blowing into the state from Southern California wildfires. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has been monitoring the situation and says there is some good news.
Michael Graves is an air quality forecaster with the state. While he said smoke from wildfires burning in the LA area has made its way into Arizona, “winds are really helping to push the smoke out of the area.”
Graves said current measurements show that levels of particulate matter in the air aren’t dangerous for most people.
“If you’re particularly sensitive to particulate pollution, you might experience shortness of breath,” he said. “It might aggravate lung disease.”
The plan, he said, is to notify the public if the risk gets any worse but levels aren’t expected to rise enough for widespread warnings.
-
This year's already strong El Niño is strengthening, a trend with potentially significant implications for the intense – and now tragic – fire season. -
A proposal sent to the November ballot by Republican lawmakers to undercut Arizona’s teachers unions has drawn the ire of police and firefighters across the state, who believe the measure would also harm their labor organizations. -
The Pocket Fire near Sedona is now more than 70% contained. But this local business is still coping with the blaze. -
Know how to properly extinguish a campfire -
A common farming device could become a critical solution in Salt River Project's wildfire mitigation efforts.
